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All posts for the month July, 2008

We can and should stop using oil for fuel.We can do that within 10 years or less if we’re determined to, and there are good reasons to do it. Notice I didn’t say "slow down", I said STOP. Oil, of course is useful for many things besides burning for energy– many plastics are made from it. Lubricants are made from it. But, burning it for fuel pollutes the air and contributes to global warming. That alone would be reason enough, but in addition, as most of us know, oil has a bad habit of being under someone else’s country, which motivates oil companies to try to cheat them out of it, and if that doesn’t work, they bribe the government to start a war, or to send in the CIA and try to change their government. Sooner or later (like now) we end up with lots of people in small but oil-rich countries that are really pissed off. And rightfully so.

You have heard some people say that plans to drastically reduce oil use are too ambitious. We should prove them wrong. If nothing else, THAT would feel awfully good. As a bonus, Florida might get to keep most of it’s land, and we wouldn’t have to move several coastal cities to keep them above water.

Already we have stimulated lots of people to come up with new ideas and improve technologies. People who already had ideas, old and new, are starting to produce them to show the way. In the past, entrenched interests like the oil companies made sure no non-oil-using ideas ever got produced. But new energy sources are too important now to let them get away with that in the future.

All-electric cars are about to hit the streets, from the high-performance sports car TESLA to cheaper commuter cars like the VOLT, to plug-in hybrids for much longer ranges. Compressed-Air cars are going to be built in India, Spain, and maybe the US soon. Like battery-electric power, compressed air provides a means not to burn fuel onboard– the air tank is refilled from an electric-powered compressor at fueling stations (perhaps we’ll rename them ENERGY stations). There’s a bonus, too: free air conditioning. The exhaust air comes out very cold.

So, we’ll need more electricity for all this. No problem. As T.B. Pickens has been pointing out, we have an abundant amount of wind, and we know how to build arrays of very efficient wind-turbine generators. And, solar-panel technology has reached the point where very large numbers of homes can be nearly independent of power companies. If you live in a mostly sunny area, you can do this NOW. Check out the following story, with facts and figures. Going Solar-Powered There are dozens of other ways we can use, all working harmoniously to reach the goal of oil-free energy independence. I’ll be mentioning them here in future additions to the blog. Remember, OIL-FREE can mean pollution-free, and might very well allow us to be WAR-FREE.

Independence Day is not a holiday about military glory and war. After all, it was not the day the war was won, nor even when hostilities began. It was the day when an intention and a purpose was declared, and principles and reasons were written and signed for the world to read, clearly and eloquently, expressing bold and new ideas. Those who signed it could not have known for sure whether the world was ready for those ideas, but they could not, and would not be stifled. There had been many governments based on power, and on tradition, but this day was the beginning of the path to a government based on IDEAS.

We may not have made of it all we could in 232 years. Many wrongs have been done. Many wars have been waged that should not have been. Ideals and honor have been betrayed out of greed, hatred, and fear. We have fallen behind many other nations in the humane treatment of our own citizens. Yet in some ways, we’ve come further than the founders even dreamed. Racial, cultural and sexual bigotry have been greatly reduced in the quest for equal treatment for all. We are not there yet, but we are on the way.

Since WW2, perhaps the only necessary war we ever fought, we have been faced with our most challenging problem: our own military and economic power. If we as a nation do not learn restraint in dealing with the rest of the world, we risk losing respect internationally and our liberty at home.

Fortunately, the awareness of this is increasing

July the Fourth is a good day to examine our failings, celebrate our achievements, and resolve never to give up on making it better.